caldera
noun
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A large, bowl-shaped volcanic depression, a caldera forms when the top of a volcanic cone collapses into the space left after magma is ejected during a violent volcanic eruption. Its diameter is many times that of the original vent. The term is Spanish for "caldron." Subsequent minor eruptions may build small cones on the floor of the caldera, and the caldera may still later fill up with water; an example of this is Crater Lake in Oregon.
Examples of caldera in a Sentence
Alex Sundby, CBS News, 4 June 2024
Beginning just after midnight and ending some 12 hours later, the eruption occurred inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, about 2.5 miles southwest of the Kilauea caldera.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2024
The explosive eruption that formed the caldera 1.15 million years ago was on par with the Crater Lake-forming eruption of Mt. Mazama (~50 cubic kilometers).
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 20 May 2024
The Owyhee Canyonlands, with stunning red gulches, winding rivers and a moon-like landscape where a volcano with a caldera once 600 times larger than Mount St. Helens erupted, stands as the largest unprotected wilderness area in the American West.
—Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 23 May 2024
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“Caldera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caldera. Accessed 8 Jun. 2024.
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caldera
noun
kȯl-
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